This map isn't part of any series, but we have other maps of the U.S. South that you might want to check out.

In honor of Juneteenth – and as my (very small) part of an effort to ensure that we in the U.S. never forget our complicity in what was an abominable and evil institution – I present this choropleth map of slaves in the United States in 1860.

Adolph von Steinwehr was a German military officer who emigrated to the U.S., and eventually accepted a commission as a Union General.

He distinguished himself as a geographer and cartographer. Not sure if this map of slave density in the South was an early advertisement of a strong feeling against the institution, but given the little that I know about the backstory, it seems plausible.

Pretty early use of choropleth visualization, all-told... and a good one (data normalized by population, in this case) that many makers of modern-day choropleth maps would do well to emulate.

The original images presented on this website are not the property of this website and are believed to be in the public domain. No endorsement of or affiliation with any third party is intended or implied by the presence of any information or images on this website.

You assume all risk related to your use of the images on this website, including sole responsibility for using such images in accordance with applicable law. If you believe that your copyrighted work or the copyrighted work of another party is being infringed, please contact me.

Other Projects:

The Pruitt-Igoe Myth:an Urban HistoryA documentary film about the profound ways in which the American city changed in the 20th Century. Told through the lens of the infamous Pruitt-Igoe housing project in St. Louis.